Union fears for thousands of railway jobs

Trade union leaders will tell the Transport Select Committee that thousands of jobs were at risk after Derby-based Bombardier missed out on the work to build trains for the Thameslink route.

Around 1,400 jobs will be lost at Bombardier, but unions will warn MPs that another 1,600 jobs will go if the company decides to leave the UK, while up to 12,000 positions in the supply chain will also be at risk.

In written evidence to be submitted to the committee, unions will point out that Britain’s railways are “booming”, with passenger numbers increasing, trains overcrowded, running late and “completely unsuitable” for some routes.